This invention relates to automotive wheels of the type designed for use with pneumatic tubeless tires, and more particularly to wheels of the type described which utilize special inflation systems that are employed for inflating the associated tubeless tires. Even more specifically this invention relates to an improved such wheel having formed inside the hub face of the wheel a network of air passages for use with an inflation system of the type described.
It has long been customary to employ with certain types of vehicles special automotive wheels connected to a central tire inflation system (CTIS), for example an on-board pump for producing compressed air to be transferred through various wheelmounted valves and hoses to the tubeless tires that are mounted on the vehicle""s wheels. For example, a wheel of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,261 employs an inflation valve which is secured to the wheel rim between its bead retaining flanges so that an outlet port of the valve communicates with the interior of the tubeless tire on the rim. The inlet port to the valve, on the other hand, is connected by a tubular valve stem to an opening in the outwardly facing section of the rim where it is secured in position to receive compressed air from a supply thereof
Systems of the type noted above function very well when the goal is simply to introduce air into a tire and to maintain it there until it is purposely evacuated or subjected to a blowout, or the like. However, in some cases, such as in the case of a military wheel, it is not unusual to require multiple air pressure settings, such as for example when the vehicle is traveling over rough, off road terrain, in mud or snow, or on hard paved surfaces. Operation on these various terrains require different air pressure settings for the tires in order to optimize the tractability of the vehicle. To effect a change in the air pressure without stopping or leaving the vehicle, it heretofore has been necessary to bolt or otherwise secure to the outside of the associated wheels certain elements of the inflation system, thus creating tire imbalance, and potential breakage or damage to the exposed inflation components, and increasing the overall weight and cost of the inflation system.
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved automotive wheel which significantly eliminates the need for many of the components heretofore employed in tire inflation systems of the type described, thus eliminating many of faulty leak sites that exist in such prior systems.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved automotive wheel of the type described which not only is designed for use in connection with a central inflation system, but which also utilizes improved means for preventing any undesirable leakage of compressed air from the tubeless tire mounted on the wheel.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide an improved wheel of the type described wherein the numerous air passages for conveying air to and from the tubless tire thereon are formed internally of the wheel rim itself, and within the cross section thereof.
Other objects of this invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A wheel for a tubeless tire is made in the form of a circular rim having outwardly flaring circumferential flanges on opposite ends thereof for engagement by the beads of a tubeless tire mounted on the rim. Intermediate its ends the rim has a wall extending transversely of its axis and the wall has therethrough a central opening disposed coaxially of the rim.
To control air flow to a tire on the rim the transverse wall has therein a first air duct which opens at one end on the outer periphery of the rim for communication with the interior of the tire mounted thereon, and opens at its opposite end on the outboard or outwardly facing side of the wall.
A second air duct is formed within the wall section to open at one end on the outboard side of the wall, and to open at its opposite end on the opposite or inboard side of the wall for connection to a central tire inflation system. Air flow is controlled by a tire inflation control valve which is secured to the outboard side of the wall, and which has therein a pair of air inlet/outlet ducts sealingly secured in communication at the outboard surface of the wall with its first and second ducts, respectively.